


Love Conquers Hate

by novaartinoisaqueen



Series: Stand alone fics [5]
Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Alternate POV, F/F, F/M, Spoilers for supernova, supernova spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:55:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23284384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novaartinoisaqueen/pseuds/novaartinoisaqueen
Summary: the parade scene in supernova from Nova's pov!
Relationships: Danna Bell | Monarch/Narcissa, Nova Artino | Nightmare/Adrian Everhart | Sketch, Oscar Silva | Smokescreen/Ruby Tucker | Red Assassin
Series: Stand alone fics [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1674508
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	Love Conquers Hate

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr nova-artino-is-a-queen

The sunlight warmed Nova’s face as she laid back on the star float, legs hovering over the edge. She _had_ been sitting, waiting for Adrian as he left to find them something to eat or drink. Oscar had accompanied him, and they had been gone for twenty minutes so far. As each minute grew longer, her patience grew shorter, so Nova resulted to a few minutes of sunbathing. Beside her, Ruby was chatting with Danna and Narcissa, who were going to be on the float as well. Ahead of them, probably two or three floats, Nova could hear a marching band warming up as well as the whooshing and whipping sounds of the color guard’s flags. 

They had been called to the parade set up three hours ago so that everyone could be accounted for and put in order. Before, Nova had been curious as to why they needed three hours to set up for an hour and a half parade, but after witnessing the amount of stress the organizers and performers went through beforehand, she now had a deeper respect for parades. 

Now they were waiting for the parade to begin, awkwardly standing around on a random residential street. Someone had mentioned a while ago that they still had thirty minutes, and that was when Adrian and Oscar left for food. 

An elbow nudged Nova’s side gently. She opened one eye, raising her eyebrow at Ruby, who pulled her up. “There’s someone here to see you,” she said, grinning from ear to ear. She gestured in front of them. 

Nova ran a hand through her hair, blinking at the young mom and the little girl behind her legs who was no more than five or six. She shared a knowing look with Ruby before hopping down from the float and kneeling to peek around the mom’s legs at the girl. 

“Hey there.” Nova smiled sweetly. “What’s your name?” 

“Go on, Camden.” Her mother stepped to the side and pushed her daughter forward encouragingly when she didn’t immediately answer. “It’s okay.”

Camden peeked up at Nova, and for that brief moment, Nova saw the awe in her eyes. Then she tore her gaze away, cheeks red. “My name’s Camden,” she said in a tiny voice. “I…I was wondering…can I have your autograph?”

Nova opened her mouth, gasping dramatically. She clasped her hands together. “Of course!” She rummaged for a marker in her pockets, knowing she put one in there specifically for today. Already, multiple people, not just children, had come up to her and her friends asking for autographs. “Where do you want it?”

Camden’s shy exterior began to drop just a little as she handed over a superhero cape. Nova asked her what her superpower was as she wrote out a short message. She learned that Camden had perfect balance, which pushed her into doing gymnastics. 

Nova handed back the cape, freshly signed. Camden grinned down at it with sparkling eyes. Then she looked back up at Nova. 

“Miss Artino,” she began, “how do you be brave? See, I want to be just like you when I grow up, but I’m always afraid.”

Nova tilted her head to the side, not all that surprised at the child’s honest question, as most children were honest, but surprised at the subject. She thought about it for a moment. Behind her, the three other girls stopped talking, and she could feel their gazes on the back of her head. “Well, Camden, bravery and fear go hand in hand. It’s impossible to be brave if you aren’t at least a little scared.”

Camden’s eyes widened, and she leaned forward. “Really? Does that mean you get scared?”

Nova nodded solemnly. “All the time, but I’m still brave.” She paused. “Some of the bravest people in the world are scared of many things, did you know that?”

She shook her head quickly, and Nova pressed on. “It’s true. Because those people are afraid to lose what they love, so they choose to be brave to protect those things. Do you understand that?” 

Camden swayed from side to side, contemplating, before smiling a toothy grin and nodding. “Thank you, Miss Artino. I think I get it now.” 

Nova matched her smile and stretched her arms out, offering a hug that the child accepted. The mother thanked Nova, and then they were gone, back to the small neighborhood crowd watching the parade from their homes. 

Meeting kids like Camden was nothing new for Nova these days; they always stopped her on the streets asking for photos or autographs or screaming how much they loved her. At first, Nova was weirded out and not sure how to even approach children. While it still made her uncomfortable to think that people idolized her for the very same reasons Nova used to despise the Renegades, she had become a pro at talking to children, and found a tiny bit of joy in brightening their day. 

“Water?” Nova turned to find a water bottle pushed in her face, the owner of the voice belonging to her boyfriend. She smiled up at him and accepted the water. Oscar showed up beside him and they passed out water to everyone. 

“You were gone that long and water was all you could find?” She hopped back up on the black parade float, designed to be like a night sky with a thousand shining stars. It was Adrian’s idea, as well as his creation. 

“Tell me about it,” Oscar groaned. Ruby scooched over and he sat beside her, arm snaking around her waist. The movement was almost natural, and Nova couldn’t help but think back to a year ago when Oscar could barely hold it together if Ruby so much as brushed hands with him. “Not a food truck in sight. They must all be in the big ticket areas.”

“We’ll get nachos after the parade,” Ruby assured him, patting his thigh. “Any word on how much longer until we start? Mom said Jade and Sterling are growing restless.”

“At least they have food,” Oscar grumbled. 

Adrian took a seat beside Nova, and they laced their fingers together immediately. “It’ll probably be another five or so minutes.”

Narcissa rested her head on Danna’s shoulder, who pressed a kiss to her hair. “I should have brought a book. It’s been three hours!” She sighed dramatically. “This parade is great and all, don’t get me wrong, but it should not be this long.” 

Nova agreed, although she kept her mouth shut. It was ironic, really, when she thought of where she was a year ago. Who she was a year ago. She had been so filled with hatred and loneliness, craving a revenge that was aimed at the wrong people. So much time and energy and so many resources poured into one goal that ate away at Nova’s humanity for ten years, preventing her from seeing the truth. And now, she recognized that revenge was an illness; it weakens someone and plagues them of any real happiness, convincing them that it is the cure when in fact it is the parasite. Now, she knew that, and was grateful that she was rescued from it’s cage before it was too late. Now, she was here, with the people she loved doing the last thing on the planet she would have ever thought she would do. A year ago, she was at the parade, yes, but with a completely different motive. 

One of the parade organizers, a middle aged man whose name Nova didn’t bother to remember, came by and told them to get to their positions. Nova took a quick sip of her water and accepted the hand that Adrian offered. Together, they got on the topmost point of the large star in the center of the float. Ruby and Oscar went to a point to their right, and Danna and Narcissa to their left. After a moment, the float lurched forward and began its slow trek down the street. The neighborhood watchers began clapping and cheering, the children jumping up and down and waving at the group of six people on the star. 

Nova waved back, putting on what she referred to as her “camera smile”, the one she reserved for the media and for events like this. 

The parade route was supposed to take them along the most known streets of Gatlon and end at Headquarters, something that would take between an hour and an hour and a half to complete. Like every year, it would be televised around the world, and similar celebrations would take place. However, what made this year different was that everyone was now a prodigy. Because of this, it seemed almost silly to solely celebrate the Renegades and their success. No, the Renegades had learned from examples like Nova and the Anarchists and the Rejects that one’s abilities didn’t determine how heroic they were. So, on the Day of Triumph, the Renegades parade was now meant to celebrate all prodigies of all shapes and sizes and abilities. Nova felt as though it was a small victory in the direction of a future she desired, a future where everyone could be equal. It brought tears to her eyes when she was told that the villain floats were being tossed, as well as the Council’s float. In their places would be floats honoring the gifts of prodigies and honoring the warriors lost in the fight for freedom and equality. It moved her to see a float for Honey, despite what the woman had done to Nova prior to her death. It made her grin to see a float for Callum Treadwell, a prodigy who quite possibly had the greatest gift of all, yet was never on a task force like other Renegades. Nova could only fathom what he would think if he were here today. 

“Are you okay?”

Nova glanced beside her at Adrian, who was still smiling and waving at the cheering crowds. But she noticed the concern in his eyes. 

“Yeah.” She wiped at her eyes, which had gotten a little misty, and reached for his hand. He clutched her tightly, a promise. “Just a little overwhelmed is all.” 

The float turned a corner, and the roaring of the crowd somehow went up two dynamics. They were on what many of the organizers referred to as “TV Street”, where most of the excitement took place for the celebration, as well as where every news station would be covering the parade. It was the street with the best seats for the parade, and the most media. It was also the street where…

Nova nudged Adrian lightly, making him look down at her curiously. “This is where we met.” She nodded to a familiar spot in front of a vendor selling merchandise. “Right there.” 

Adrian’s smile grew genuine, and he pulled her closer. “I love you, Nova Artino.”

“And I you, Adrian Everhart. Every day, I will love you.” Sweet rot, she was letting Danna and Ruby suck her into their shared love of rom-coms and romance movies. She didn’t much care, though. Her heart was full, the fullest it had ever been. 

When she tilted her head up to kiss Adrian, the crowd went wild. Nova tuned them out, her attention fully on the boy standing beside her. She savored this moment, the way he tasted of the donuts Oscar brought earlier that morning, the feeling of a hand in her hair and another clutching her hip. Too soon did he pull back, but Nova knew from the secretive glint in his eyes that there would be many, many more kisses later in the day when they were alone and away from the eyes of the media. She couldn’t wait. 

But for now, she let herself be wrapped up in his arms as they both waved to the many cameras pointed at them and smiled at the crowd. A sign held by a kid caught Nova’s eye; when the child saw Nova watching him, he grinned and raised the sign higher, shouting something Nova couldn’t hear. But the sign was enough explanation: Love Conquers Hate.

She couldn’t agree more. 


End file.
